Articles

Pittsburgh Heart Walk

Category: Health Published on Thursday, 12 November 2009 10:05 Written by Courier Newsroom

More than 12,000 Pittsburgh residents took giant steps for their heart health Oct. 17 at Heinz Field in the American Heart Association’s annual Start! Heart Walk. As the American Heart Association’s signature fund-raising event, the Start! Heart Walk promotes physical activity and heart-healthy living in a fun family environment.

SUPPORTING A LOVED ONE—From left: Troi Simpson from the Hill District, Nikki Coffee and daughter, Tiffany Stuckey. Coffee is a cancer survivor. Stuckey, from Highland Park, is walking for her mother and Simpson, from the Hill District, is walking for her friend.

This year more than one million walkers will participate in more than 500 events, raising funds to save lives from this country’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers—heart disease and stroke. These and other cardiovascular diseases kill more than 870,000 Americans each year and cost the nation more than $403 billion in direct and indirect costs.

American Heart Association’s Start! Heart Walk, which has raised almost $600 million for research and education since it was launched in 1994, took place in about 450 cities this year.